ATC Registration

[Papa Al]

Found out today there is a voluntary registration on the ATC to try and thin the crowds at Springer. If there is already 50 signed for that day a no pop ups. My start date is March 16 and a big no came up. Plane and hiker hostel reservations have been made about a month ago, coming from Northern Wisconsin. Guess this makes me a bad guy, but will start as planned. Any thoughts?

[Lone Wolf]

Found out today there is a voluntary registration on the ATC to try and thin the crowds at Springer. If there is already 50 signed for that day a no pop ups. My start date is March 16 and a big no came up. Plane and hiker hostel reservations have been made about a month ago, coming from Northern Wisconsin. Guess this makes me a bad guy, but will start as planned. Any thoughts?

my thought? start as planned. there is no official registration to walk on the AT for a day, week, month or the whole thing

[Jeff]

Key word is VOLUNTARY.

[Coffee]

In contrast to the new PCTA registration process, which seems to be mandatory, the ATC process is clearly voluntary. Whether it may be a prelude to mandatory quotas in the future remains to be seen.

[thestin]

Agree with LW. And there is no way to stop any one from accessing the area. Bring a tent or a tarp so you won't be dependent on shelters and you'll be fine.

[rickb]

I am surprised 50 people have even heard of a voluntary registration, much less signed up for a particular day already.

Can you supply the link.

[thestin]

http://www.appalachiantrail.org/hiki...e-registration

Site also says this...WE'RE SORRY, THE VOLUNTARY REGISTRATION IS TEMPORARILY OUT OF ORDER.

PLEASE CHECK BACK AT A LATER TIME.

[rickb]

http://www.appalachiantrail.org/hiki...e-registration

Site also says this...WE'RE SORRY, THE VOLUNTARY REGISTRATION IS TEMPORARILY OUT OF ORDER.

PLEASE CHECK BACK AT A LATER TIME.

Probably was not functioning properly for the OP.

[Papa Al]

Yes I had seen that the site was down, perhaps everything is showing as full.

[peakbagger]

Hmmm time to start scalping registrations?

[Lauriep]

Hey everybody, I'm one of the people on the ATC Walk in the Woods Mitigation Task Force that is developing the voluntary thru-hiker registration.

The main purpose of the registration is to try to spread people out to avoid the clumping that has been causing so many problems--mostly on the southern end of the Trail, but the problems follow hikers all the way to the top of Katahdin: crowded shelters and campsites, trampling of vegetation and campsite expansion, water quality issues, spread of disease, full hostels and other businesses in towns along the way, plus the crowding that occurs at viewpoints, water sources, and other locations. In addition, the behavior of people in larger groups tends to change, in ways that are not healthy for the Trail itself or communities around the Trail, and sometimes is intrusive to other people who want to enjoy the A.T. for something less than six months at a stretch. I think Zach Davis of Appalachian Trials outlines some of the problems well and makes good suggestions for dealing with them in his appeal to fellow thru-hikers, in his call for a Thru-Hikers' Code of Conduct.

We also want to be able to collect data on thru-hike starters, which we have never been able to do in a systematic way. We also hope to be to communicate trail alerts during the hiker season. At the end of the season, we hope to survey not just successful thru-hikers, but the 75% who left the Trail anywhere between Amicalola Falls and Baxter Peak.

This year is meant to be a trial run to learn what works best so we can be prepared for the bigger numbers expected in 2016 and beyond after A Walk in the Woods hits theaters later this year.

Unfortunately, the software we is using is not very flexible. It is quite clear now that it not the best suited for what we want to do, but… live and learn.

ATC is now, and always has been throughout its history, dedicated to keeping regulations and fees at an absolute minimum. The A.T. as it exists today should be proof of that. However, the increasing number of hikers, and thru-hikers in particular, are threatening the very well-being of the Trail when they are clustered together in "bubbles." The A.T. can still accommodate a lot more hikers, but not all in the same place at the same time. However, if the numbers continue to increase, and people do not voluntarily change their behaviors and self-disperse, regulation will be needed. Agency partners who have less patience than ATC may take hold of the reins, as has already been done in a few areas, if they feel the Trail and lands around it are being degraded too far from its intended purpose.

We know that the registration system we have developed has flaws. This is not something that ATC has expertise in, but we are learning. We already have lots of ideas about how to make it better next year. Internally we have different thoughts on how much to keep tweaking it this year within the limitations we have, and whether to just let 'er rip and start promoting it (and duck). We purposely have not publicized it widely, but once things start working more smoothly, we will start to let more hikers know about it in different places.

We do NOT expect people who have already booked motels, campsites, lodges, etc. and made travel plans to change them. We just hope that a few people who have flexibility in their schedules will be willing to alter their start date by a day or two, or maybe a week. Or, especially if you're not set on leaving early, start your thru-hike somewhere in the middle and go northbound, ahead of the bubble. More suggestions on start times for all types of thru-hikers are on our website on the When and Where to Start a Thru-Hike page.

Ultimately, the more people participate in the system, the more useful it will be to other hikers and ATC going forward.

We do want your feedback.

Laurie Potteiger
ATC

[Papa Al]

Laurie: Thank you and others for your reply to my post. I certainly understand the problem of over crowding and jut wish I could be one of the flexible ones. I think the ATC is heading in the right direction with this.

[Lauriep]

Hey everyone,

The registration function is now working again (except on Macs).

This is a work in progress--the more feedback you can give us (especially you 2015 thru-hikers) during this pilot project, the better. We've been tweaking things almost daily, but as I noted earlier, there are quite a few limitations with the reservation system we are using. Trying to implement one of the suggested changes (for the 2nd or 3rd time) is what crashed the registration system Friday night.


Papa Al,

Thanks so much for participating in the process, and providing your feedback. At your convenience, would you try it again?

We're all in this together!

[Sly]

Agree with LW. And there is no way to stop any one from accessing the area. Bring a tent or a tarp so you won't be dependent on shelters and you'll be fine.

Anyone that starts without a tent, tarp or hammock is doomed to run into trouble eventually.

As it's set up now there's no way to stop someone to access the area. A mandatory process with rangers checking for permits could change that. However, that doesn't appear the intent of the new program. Since it's voluntary, the new program notifies hikers that their chosen start date is "booked" and they may be best off picking another date.

[Lone Wolf]

what if you show up and just say you're section hiking? or over nighting? will there be permits for that?

[Busky2]

what if you show up and just say you're section hiking? or over nighting? will there be permits for that?

Easy, they tag you, and if you go beyond your stated section or stay an extra few days then the just shoot you and feed you to the zombie hiker horde as a special "Trail Magic" dinner.

[Emerson Bigills]

I support the actions by the ATC. The problems that have existed on the lower portions of the trail are only magnified by the increasing numbers of thru hikers and the short window most leave in. Implementing voluntary programs is a good start in trying to have some positive impacts on some of the issues. Those who are not aware, or choose to not try to be part of the solution, still have the freedom to do as they please it would seem..... at least for a while. The ATC really does not have enforcement capabilities.

Not hard to imagine a permit that references the ATC start date that gives one the Thru hiker GSMNP, BSP privileges that are desirable. There will always be loop holes, but people who care about the trail should be focused on how to resolve the issues.

[lemon b]

How about making first 300 and last 300 miles of the trail alcohol free zones.

[mtntopper]

I think it is headed toward some kind of permit system in the future. First they need to gather some info.

lemon b....funny you should mention alcohol..recently alcohol was banned from route 785 to route 220 (Daleville Va.) This would include the MacAfees Knob area.

[TJ aka Teej]

This is a very encouraging move by ATC for the GAMErs. I'm not certain it's useful at all for MEGAs.